David Haskell (Presenter), Department of
Biology, University of the South

I evaluated the effects of conversion of native mixed hardwood forests
to pine plantations on the abundance and diversity of birds in the Southern
Cumberland Plateau. This study was part of the Small Area Assessment
underway in this region. I made distance counts of birds in both native
forests and plantations across a range of stand ages. Bird richness
and diversity were lower in pine plantations, and bird abundance was
lower for most species, except a few "early successional"
species that were found at higher densities in young pine stands. I
will discuss these data in the context of regional patterns of forest
change and trends in bird populations.